Two of Arne Slot‘s options to take on the No. 9 role are unavailable for the foreseeable future, but the Liverpool boss says he has other players he can consider.
Tuesday brought news that Diogo Jota is only expected to return to action after the international break, compounding the woes in attack after a worrying Federico Chiesa update.
“I don’t want to put days or weeks on it because I think we just have to make sure he gets in the best possible shape,” Slot said of the Italian.
With Jota and Chiesa not to play any part in the upcoming matches, it leaves Darwin Nunez – who has played up top three games in a row – as the obvious choice for the No. 9 role.
But with four games in 11 days, he cannot shoulder all the responsibility, and Slot was asked about his No. 9 options ahead of the League Cup trip to Brighton.
“About Darwin, I gave him credit that he worked so hard in previous weeks where he didn’t play a lot to be able to play three times in a row, I think three games in eight days,” Slot said.
“That says a lot about him.
“But it also says a lot about the quality of our performance and medical staff that we were able to give him the right sessions to prepare him in the right way.
“But you always need the player to buy in because you can give him the right sessions, but if he doesn’t give everything then it is very difficult to do what he did.
“It was a good thing his ban for Uruguay was cancelled so he could play two games there, that helped him to play the way he did. I’m not talking about the quality, but the intensity he played with.
“That was a positive thing. It is a pity that Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa are not available because they were, in my opinion, the most logical No. 9s.
“But still, we have some other options with the ones you just said (Gakpo, Diaz, Salah).”
Liverpool’s four forwards will need to share the workload in the coming weeks, ensuring it is also a pity that Harvey Elliott cannot assist either having been ruled out until after the November break.
If Slot has to look deeper for forward options, Dominik Szoboszlai could be one to consider on the right wing. But you sense Cody Gakpo and Nunez will likely share No. 9 responsibilities.
